Falling for Her
by minkzoe
Summary: Legolas is usually the more calm member of the Fellowship. Will he remain that way when he finds true love with warrior elf, Araithia? *fanfic based on movies and a little on books*
1. Meeting Araithia

***FANFIC IS BASED ON THE MOVIES WITH SOME INFO FROM THE BOOK (I've watched the movies at least seven times each and have skimmed through/read a little of the books, so most of my story is based on the movies, like how Legolas acts/looks like)***

**I do not own any of the LOTR characters, and I made up Araithia. Rated T for some violence and romance, but will maybe be switched to M later on in the chapters.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Drinks were quickly passed around at the tavern. The moral was extremely high after the Battle of Helm's Deep and the soldiers expressed their spirits with lots of laughter, chatter, and of course: singing. In the mist of all the drunken choruses and celebrating, a slim figure leaned against one of the bar poles and observed the party instead of being part of it. His crystal clear blue gaze pierced through the pipe smoke, focusing on the two dancing hobbits on the table, who were singing about their beloved Green Dragon Inn. He muttered something in Elvish, something about the admirable foolishness of Hobbits, then proceeded to straighten up and head for the door leading to the rooftop and to quietness. Before he could reach the door, a firm hand clasped onto his shoulder. "Legolas," said Gandalf. "Where are you going? Should you not be drinking with the rest of the soldiers? Today was a mighty defeat that showed Sauron the strength of men, something worth celebrating."<p>

"I've had my drinks, thank you, but the noise is getting unbearable and I would like some time to think." The old wizard nodded understandingly. He loosened his grasp and waved his friend onward to his destination. Legolas slowly made his way up the stone stairway to the roof. He could feel the vibrations of dancing feet as he pulled the hood of his cloak over his head.

The cold night air hit him the instant he opened the door. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting the wind glide across his face and wash away the stench of sweat and beer. The warrior turned to face the moon to find another cloaked figure bathing in the light. Puzzled, he walked over and stood next to them. The silence was overwhelming, but not strong enough for Legolas to go back down to join the wasted men. Finally, the shadowy figure spoke.

"Why aren't you celebrating with the rest of your friends? After all, the victory at Helm's Deep was one paid with the death of many fine men." They spoke gently in a raspy voice, as if they had a bad cold.

"Today was a long one and I do not exactly feel up for more drinks and dancing." Legolas proceeded to tilt his head up, facing the dark night sky.

"The stars are veiled," the stranger said. "I can't see anything." The Mirkwood elf turned towards the figure, slightly shocked by the comment. With the huge victory at Helms Deep and another up coming battle, the last thing he expected someone to say was a comment about the stars.

"Most men would not say that. Their minds would either be clouded by beer or be thinking about the events that unfolded today."

"Ah, you are right. Though I must say that I'm not like most men. For starters," the figure turned towards Legolas and raised their hood to reveal a helmet that made it almost impossible for anyone to see who was under it. They then lifted up the silver helmet and a wave of hazel hair immediately tumbled out, stopping at their ribcage. In a much higher and clearer voice, they continued to speak, "I'm not a man, but a woman. Secondly, I'm not a mortal, either. I am of Elvish kind, _your_ kind."

Suddenly, the male elf started to notice how similar her features were to his. The luscious hair, fair complexion, slightly pointed ears, and high cheek bones, and especially how she looked like she had bathed in liquid moonlight. She bowed her head and spoke, "I am Araithia, daughter of Araithron."

He bowed to the she-elf and proceeded to respond. "I am Legolas Greenleaf, son of Thranduil." He looked up and their eyes met. For a few silent moments, the beautiful honey eyes of the daughter of Araithron and the sky blue eyes of the son of Thranduil were glued together in a gaze. Legolas could feel his heart pounding louder as her eyes started to twinkle. Feeling as though his heart might pound out of his chest, he broke eye contact and cleared his throat. "What brings you here?"

"Elrond sent out messengers to gather Elves to help the men at Helm's Deep fight. He reached out to my father to ask for help, but my father said that we barely had any men to spare, since we needed them to help ensure the safety of the she-elves traveling to the ships leaving for the Greyhavens. I took a few men and we stole weaponry and left for Helm's Deep."

"Why the male disguise?"

"Who would let a woman fight?" She replied, steel in her voice. "Elvish women are looked at as jewels by men, not as living breathing things. We are hardly even taken serious by our own. We're just beautiful figures and voices with opinions, not people who go into war and fight." Araithia's voice grew louder, each word said with anger. She seemed to have noticed the rant she just let out and quickly redeemed herself as cool and collected.

"That is why I pretended I was a man." Araithia realized how much she had spilled the Legolas and felt incredibly stupid. She knew that they were both on the same side, but she felt uneasy about all the information she gave out, especially the last part. _Where did that come from? _The elf thought. _What made me say so much to him? Why did I say so much to him? It must have been those eyes, those dreamy brown eyes. Or the way he spoke so softly and swiftly. Or maybe it wa-_ She realized what she was thinking and shook them out of her head. "I must go. I need to go speak with my men."

Legolas nodded as Araithia put the helmet and hood back on and watched as she took a few steps away from him. He turned back to face the open night sky, but heard Araithia speak to him again, this time in the low raspy voice she had the first time he talked to her.

"You know what I just told you? My disguise and reason for it?" The blonde elf turned around to see Araithia standing only a foot away in a shooting position, arrow notched in her bow, pointed right at Legolas' own throat. _Where'd she get that?_ He thought. _It wasn't there a minute ago_

"I'd like to stay in this war and to do so, I need to have that be kept a secret, you understand?" The look in her golden eyes showed him that she wouldn't give a second thought about letting go of that arrow if he even thought about telling someone about her disguise. He nodded and she lowered her arrow, not all the way, though.

"Good. I've trusted you with a secret, Legolas Greenleaf, one that only a few know. I hope to not have to kill such a handsome face." She put her bow and arrow under her cloak and stood face to face with him.

With a low bow, he said, "You have my word, Araithia, daughter of Araithron." Though the helmet covered most of her face, he could sense her smile underneath the thick silver hat.

"Until we meet again," and with that, she turned and walked to the door leading to the tavern below. This time, Legolas watched and made sure that the she-elf had really left this time before looking out over the distant landscape. He spent the next few minutes confused, not sure what to make of Araithia; the conversation that they had, the revealing of who she really was, the death threat, but in the end, he was sure of one thing: he could not wait until they met again.


	2. The Two Paths Collide Again

"Tell me; why should we ride to the aid of those who did not come to ours? What do we owe Gondor?" Legolas closed his eyes. Though he could see some reasoning in Theoden's questions, he hoped that the king would see some sense: that this was not a battle of the kingdoms, but a battle for Middle Earth as a whole, between the good and the evil. Aragorn tried to argue back, but was quickly hushed up by Gandalf. The wizard whispered something to Aragorn. He seemed to disagree, but knew better than to challenge the orders of Gandalf.

Théoden seemed to take this as his chance to leave. Aragorn, Gandalf, and the two hobbits turned to go to the stable, and all was left was Legolas himself, Gimli, and a few servants busily clearing the tables. Gimli released a monstrous burp, shaking the table, before grabbing his mug for another sip of beer.

"I think that's enough for one night, Gimli," Legolas said, resting a hand on his shoulder. The dwarf had already gone through a whole barrel of ale and as drunk as he was: showed no signs of stopping. He clumsily swatted at the elf's hand.

"No no, this is nothing. I've spent whole days doing nothing but dri-" his head fell down onto his plate with a loud thump. Snores rose from the dwarf.

Legolas looked around and saw that every servant was engulfed in their work. He realized that it was going to be his job to bring the dwarf to his room. With a heave, he lifted the sleeping Gimli onto his back and slowly made his way to where the bedrooms were. Though elves are particularly strong, bringing his friend to his room was still a difficult feat. The fact that Gimli was drunkly punching the air (and sometimes the elf) was not helping.

When the two finally reached the room, Legolas gently put Gimli down and threw a blanket onto his friend. He made a mental note to tell the dwarf to clean his beard soon, for the remains of dinner had nestled themselves into the thick tangled mess. As he walked out and turned down the corridor, the elf saw something out of the corner of his eye. A cloaked figure. A thought popped into his head, but he refused to believe it. He had not seen her for days. If it was truly her, he would have saw her around Edoras at least once, wouldn't he?

They stood face to face for a few brief moments before the person turned and walked towards the outside of the castle. Legolas knew that the cloaked figure did that on purpose: making sure he saw them. He knew she was of no danger to him, and didn't hesitant to follow her outside. The elf stood next to the figure and looked out over large fields and wooden houses.

"You know," he spoke, "We should stop meeting like this and see each other, face-to-face, in board daylight."

Araithia chuckled and took off her helmet. Her hair was a bit messy and Legolas had an urge to smooth it down the silky hazel mane. "Maybe some other day. How is Théoden?"

"Stubborn as ever. Théoden won't go and fight with Gondor unless the kingdom calls for help. Knowing Gondor's steward, he would not dare do that. He is too proud to call for help, and he has still yet to hear about his son's death." Araithia cocked an eyebrow at the mention of Boromir's death, but said nothing.

"A foolish move on both parts, but I think Théoden will see sense. Do you know where the wizard is going?

"Gandalf comes and goes as he pleases. I feel as if I should not question his doings."

"Why did he bring a hobbit with him, them?"

"Like I said, I do not question his doings." He switched the topic and hoped to find out more about this mysterious (and awfully attractive) she-elf. "I have not seen you the past days I have stayed. Where are your quarters?"

"I do not stay within the castle's town. I stay by the forest with my men, or shall I say: man." Legolas gave her a quizzical look and she continued to say, "Out of the 19 elves I brought with me to the battle, only I and one other made it through the night. I am glad it is him, though: he is my closest friend." The blonde elf felt a pang of annoyance as she told him about this other male, but brushed it away.

"Why don't you stay with the villagers? I'm sure they will give any warrior a warm welcome." She shrugged.

"I prefer being by myself or with few others. I also like the feel of being around trees and the outdoors. Sauron's army will not attack Rohan again, so I do not need to worry about any surprise attacks and even if it's a few wandering orcs, I can take them" Legolas admired her boldness and courageousness. The way Araithia said it was different. Her words were so full of confidence and belief in what she stood for that he felt that she should be a leader of an entire army, not just of one other man

"Do you think we will win the battle for Middle Earth, my lady?" Her mouth curled into a small smile at the last two words; it had been so long since someone had called her that.

"Of course. I'm sure many noble men will die, but in the end, men will be the last ones standing, not Orcs or trolls."

"What about the Elves, where will they stand?"

"We are already leaving the shores and sailing for the Havens. I suppose if I do not die in battle, that will be my fate, whether I like it or not."

"I do not think you will die in battle, my lady, not with your skills."

"That's very kind of you to say so. We are only to see if that is true." She turned to the blonde elf and gave a bow of respect and shoved her helmet back on. Araithia was about to leave when she left something clasp around her hand. She gasped and looked back to see Legolas, slightly pink, with his left hand reaching out and holding hers. He walked a bit closer to her and returned the low bow. At the bottom of the bow, he kissed her on the hand.

She was glad that she had her silver helmet on, for if she didn't, Legolas would have seen her bright red face. His soft lips felt gentle on Araithia's hand. The spot where he had touched was tingling and she felt her breath catch in her throat. Her heart was beating so loud that she could barely hear the handsome male elf whisper, "It will be true."


End file.
